Hello everyone,
I'm lucky enough to have five letters written before and during the Crimean War by a relative of mine (Charles). I'm certainly no military historian but am trying to 'put some flesh on the bones' and wondered if anyone can help point me in the right direction for further research.
These are the letter dates and a few questions about each....I've done plenty of searching with Google but without too much success so far...
Letter 1 - 8 August 1847 - Quebec.
Charles says he enlisted at Epsom in Surrey and signs his letter as being in the Rifle Brigade. I know this brigade became the Green Jackets but was Epsom a well known enlistment office? Any idea why he would have been posted directly to Quebec?
Letter 2 - 24 October 1847 - Quebec C.E.
What does CE mean? Is it a military suffix? Charles now signs himself as a member of the Reserve Battalion, Light Brigade. What link does this have to the Rifle Brigade? Why would he have changed brigades?
Charles' brother appears to have joined the 'reserves' in Portsmouth. Any idea what reserves these were likely to have been? He was a Lance Corporal but appeared to have returned to farming a couple of years later.
Letter 3 -7 November 1849 - Quebec C.E.
This letter tells of the Quebec cholera outbreak. Charles refers to a 'Carrehall Standard'...was this a military vehicle or wagon?
Also refers to Colonel Lawrence, is there any muster of the Rifle Brigade on the net that may refer to him?
Letter 4 -14 March 1852 - Kingston West, Ontario
Charles is now in 2nd Btn. Rifle Brigade and then went on the fight at the Battle of Alma. Any more info on this Btn. other than the Green Jackets official site would be welcome.
Letter 5 - 3 October 1854 - Sebastopol
Charles tells of the Rifle Brigades action at Alma. He was to die at Inkerman. Any info on casulaty lists from Alma would be welcome...he lists the numbers of Alma casualties in his letter and briefly describes the battle.
Sorry to have the carpet bomb approach but any help would be gratefully received and I'll send a transcript of the letters to anyone in exchange for any advice.
Thanks.
I'm lucky enough to have five letters written before and during the Crimean War by a relative of mine (Charles). I'm certainly no military historian but am trying to 'put some flesh on the bones' and wondered if anyone can help point me in the right direction for further research.
These are the letter dates and a few questions about each....I've done plenty of searching with Google but without too much success so far...
Letter 1 - 8 August 1847 - Quebec.
Charles says he enlisted at Epsom in Surrey and signs his letter as being in the Rifle Brigade. I know this brigade became the Green Jackets but was Epsom a well known enlistment office? Any idea why he would have been posted directly to Quebec?
Letter 2 - 24 October 1847 - Quebec C.E.
What does CE mean? Is it a military suffix? Charles now signs himself as a member of the Reserve Battalion, Light Brigade. What link does this have to the Rifle Brigade? Why would he have changed brigades?
Charles' brother appears to have joined the 'reserves' in Portsmouth. Any idea what reserves these were likely to have been? He was a Lance Corporal but appeared to have returned to farming a couple of years later.
Letter 3 -7 November 1849 - Quebec C.E.
This letter tells of the Quebec cholera outbreak. Charles refers to a 'Carrehall Standard'...was this a military vehicle or wagon?
Also refers to Colonel Lawrence, is there any muster of the Rifle Brigade on the net that may refer to him?
Letter 4 -14 March 1852 - Kingston West, Ontario
Charles is now in 2nd Btn. Rifle Brigade and then went on the fight at the Battle of Alma. Any more info on this Btn. other than the Green Jackets official site would be welcome.
Letter 5 - 3 October 1854 - Sebastopol
Charles tells of the Rifle Brigades action at Alma. He was to die at Inkerman. Any info on casulaty lists from Alma would be welcome...he lists the numbers of Alma casualties in his letter and briefly describes the battle.
Sorry to have the carpet bomb approach but any help would be gratefully received and I'll send a transcript of the letters to anyone in exchange for any advice.
Thanks.